MW: U.S. dollar falls vs. Japanese yen, other rivals
The U.S. dollar fell sharply against the yen on Friday, as comments from Japan's finance minister provided support for the Japanese currency.
In recent trading, the greenback dropped 1.1% to 90.25 Japanese yen. Earlier, the dollar hit an intraday low of 89.94 yen.
The dollar traded under 90.00 yen for the first time since February, said analysts at Action Economics.
Yen "movement was dominated by light repatriation flows relating to next week's fiscal half-year," they said. Also, "Japanese finance minister Fujii continued to make supportive yen remarks overnight and ruled out intervention again."
Japan's Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said he opposes intervening in the currency markets to curb the rise in the yen, according to media reports.
The dollar index (DXY 76.72, -0.18, -0.24%) , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, fell to 76.730 in recent trading, down from 76.901 late Thursday.
Stock futures indicated a slightly higher opening on Wall Street. Investors are awaiting U.S. data on new home sales, consumer sentiment and durable goods orders.
Currency traders will also be following developments at the Group of 20 meeting in Pittsburgh.
The Wall Street Journal reported the G20 is close to an agreement that will require members to subject their economic policies to peer review, though the mechanism is unclear and there don't appear to be any sanctions involved. Read more.
The euro edged up 0.2% to $1.4681, while the British pound fell 0.3% to $1.6009.
The New Zealand dollar and the Australian dollar also gained against the greenback, as oil priced rebounded modestly.